Courgette & Lemon Loaf Cake with Yoghurt Icing

📝 Ingredients

• 1 courgette (about 250 g)
• 1 unwaxed lemon (zest and 2 tbsp juice for the batter, 1 tsp juice for the icing)
• 3 eggs (about 50 g each)
• 100 g caster sugar
• 145 g plain yoghurt, 1.5% fat (125 g for the batter, 20 g for the icing)
• 40 g rapeseed oil (4 tbsp)
• 200 g plain flour
• 1 sachet baking powder (11 g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 80 g icing sugar (for the glaze)

🍴 Utensils

• 25 cm loaf tin and baking paper
• Grater
• Clean tea towel
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Flexible spatula

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a 25 cm loaf tin with baking paper, leaving it overhanging the edges so the cake is easy to lift out. Wash the lemon, finely grate all the zest, then squeeze the juice into a small bowl.
2. Wash the courgette, trim the ends and grate it, unpeeled, on the fine side of the grater. Put it in a clean tea towel, gather it up and twist hard over the sink to squeeze out as much water as possible: you should be left with about 180 g.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and zest for 2 minutes, until the mixture is frothy and pale. Add 125 g of the yoghurt, the oil and 2 tbsp lemon juice, then whisk until smooth.
4. Mix the flour, baking powder and pinch of salt, then add to the bowl in three batches, mixing with the whisk just until the flour disappears. Overworking the batter would make the cake dense and rubbery.
5. Fold in the squeezed courgette with a spatula, breaking it up well so it spreads evenly without clumping. Pour the batter into the tin, smooth the top and tap the tin once on the work surface to knock out any air bubbles.
6. Bake on the middle shelf for 45 to 50 minutes. The cake is done when it's golden brown, cracked on top, and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. If it browns too quickly, cover it with baking paper after 30 minutes.
7. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then lift out using the paper and leave to cool completely on a plate, for at least 1 hour. A cake that's still warm would melt the icing, which would run straight off.
8. For the icing, mix the icing sugar with the remaining 20 g of yoghurt and 1 tsp lemon juice until you have a thick cream that runs slowly off the spoon. Spread over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, then leave to set in the fridge for 20 minutes.